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Durga
is the most splendid manifestation of
Devi.
Virginal and sublime, contain within her the power of all the gods
combined, she is the invincible power of Nature who triumphs over those
who seek to subjugate her.
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Durga and the
Buffalo Demon
The buffalo demon,
Mahisha stomped across the three worlds, kicking up dust,
polluting the earth and sea.
Neither Indra,
king of gods, nor Kumara, commander of the celestial armies
could stop him. In despair the gods called on
Vishnu for help.
Vishnu confronted the demon Mahisha first as Narasimha the
man lion and then as
Varaha, the boar, but each time he failed to subdue the
demon.
Shiva, the supreme ascetic, disturbed by the violence opened
his third eye unleashing the fire of doom. Even the power of
Shiva’s third eye capable of destroying the three worlds
could not arrest Mahisha’s march.
“Nothing can stop
Mahisha now: he will soon control the universe and make Nature
dance to his tunes,” said Brahma the creator.
“It will never be
so, Nature can never be conquered,” said Brahma as his divine
strength, his
shakti, emerged from his body in the form of the goddess
Brahmi. She rode a swan and held books of wisdom in her hands.
Simultaneously,
the
shaktis of the other gods emerged taking female forms. From
Indra, rose Indrani bearing a thunderbolt, riding an elephant,
from Kumara rose Kaumari holding a lance and riding a peacock,
from
Vishnu rose Vaishanavi on an eagle with a discus whirling on
her finger, from
Varaha came the sharp tusk sow Varahi, from
Shiva came Shiavani riding a bull bearing a trident.
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The seven
shaktis,
unrestrained by the bodies of the gods, were fearsome beings –
unbridled, untamed, restless energies of the cosmos. They would not
submit to the authority of any man, beast or god, let alone a demon.
They rose to the sky and
merged with each other in a blinding light. The sounds of the conchs,
drums and bells filled the air. With bated breath, the gods watched the
light. From the heavenly light arose a beautiful goddess.
“Who are you?” asked the gods.
“I am
Durga,
the inaccessible one,” replied the goddess. “I am Prakriti, the
substance that gives form and identity to all things. I am Shakti, the
power that enables all creatures to exist, to feel, think, act and
react. I am Maya, the delusion that makes life alluring yet elusive.”
The gods saluted the great
goddess. “Give me your weapons and I shall destroy he who seeks to
dominate me,” said the great goddess.
The goddess acquiesced.
Shiva
gave his trident, Vishnu his discus and mace, Indra his thunderbolt,
Kurmara his lance, Brahma his bow. Then mounting a lion,
Durga
prepared for battle.
News of
Durga,
the beautiful goddess who resides upon a mountain, mount Meru, reached
Mahisha. “She shall be my queen,” declared the buffalo demon. He
ordered his two generals, Chanda and Munda, to fetch her.
Chanda and Munda placed
the Buffalo Demon's marriage proposal before
Durga.
Durga
did not reply. The demons viewed this as insubordination and threatened
Durga.
The mighty goddess responded by swinging her sword in one grand sweep
she cut off both the generals heads.
The violent rejection of
his marriage proposal enraged Mahisha. “Bring that proud woman before
me in chains and I shall show her who is master.”
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A hundred thousand
asuras armed with bows, arrows, spears and swords surrounded
Mount Meru, determined to capture
Durga. They marched up the mountain, before long a hundred
thousand demon heads were seen rolling down Mount Meru smearing
its slopes red.
Durga drank the blood of the demons. Seizing a lute and
drum she made music to celebrate her victory.
Humiliated by the
defeat Mahisha asked, “Why won’t you marry me, am I not lord of
the three worlds?”
“I shall marry
only he who defeats me in battle,” revealed the goddess.
“Then let us
fight,” responded the buffalo demon.
A great battle
commenced. Mountains shook, oceans trembled, clouds scattered
across the sky, as the buffalo demon attacked
Durga. He rushed towards her, sometimes as a buffalo,
sometimes as a lion, sometimes as an elephant. The goddess
broke the buffalo’s horns with her mace, sheared the lion’s mane
with her lance, cut the elephant’s trunk with her sword.
Weapon after
weapon, when hurled at the buffalo demon, but each time he
managed to rise up undefeated.
Realizing that her
weapons had no effect on Mahisha,
Durga threw them aside, dismounted from her lion and with
her bare hands sprang upon Mahisha’s back. With her tender feet
she kicked his head. The demon, immune to the weapons of all
the gods, fell senseless at the touch of
Durga’s feet.
Durga then raised her trident and plunged it into the
buffalo demons heart conquering the unconquerable. |

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